Saturday

I need to clean. I need to do laundry. I need to go shopping for some essentials. But I need to be here when mom wakes up.

Mom needs to sleep.

This messes with my ability to clean and do laundry and go shopping.

So, I'm playing on the computer.

I want to make a gift for someone. I can't find the book with the pattern.

I want to knit, but my hands are too hot.

I want to run away - but I am too responsible for that!

Perhaps I should do what I did when my boys were babies, and sleep while mom sleeps and forget the rest!

Nah... back to book hunting and waiting for mom to wake up.

I'll leave you with this:


(Christmas Tree 2008)

Merry Christmas in July!

SP14 gift!

KnitPick Surprise
Originally uploaded by radarkaty.

Beautiful KnitPicks Gloss arrived in my mailbox today from my SP14 spoiler. They couldn't have arrived at a better time.

Life has been a bit stressful here at Chez Radarkaty. Mom is in the hospital and is very ill. This lovely gift helped cheer my day more than a dozen roses ever could! :)

She also suggested and sent the gift of Jared Flood's Girasole pattern. When the weather turns a bit cooler and the stress level abates, I shall cast on and report from the lace department! :)

Thank you, kind pal!

Things.

I want to deep clean and declutter. I want to unload unwanted stuff - either sell, donate or trash. First, I must figure out what I have, so that I can determine the appropriate categories.

To that end, I started to tackle the yarn corner. It is overrun with bags and Rubbermaid-style tubs and storage drawers and... well, you get the idea. No, I am not showing a picture! At least, not a picture of the corner. I did take a number of pictures of yarn. I decided to catalog what I have - pictures and ravelry stash update as I go along. I need new batteries in order to proceed. However, I was able to catalog a bit yesterday - before the batteries died.

Below is a collage containing a small sampling of what I found in the corner. Many, many, many... well, LOTS more to do!



My sister and a few hale and hearty young men are arriving next week to help me tackle the shed and the garage. No yarn (I hope!) in those locations, though pattern books and old magazines may well be found in the garage.

Must.conquer.the.mess!

Until next time.

Secret Pal 14 Questionnaire

And so it begins! Three months of fun stalking and pretty presents! :)

SP14 Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely not like?
I like smooth dk and light worsted best for non-sock things; I like alpaca lace and cashmere lace and pretty much anything that isn’t rough feeling. however I do.not.like. boucle, fun fur, funky lash, novelty yarns

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a zippered case for crochet hooks, the extras are in drawers and pencil cups and projects. I have a basket, a Nantucket bagg, and a bread crock for my knitting needles

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I have been knitting since the middle of the Knitting Olympics in 2006. I learned from a book, the internet and careful questions and observations at my LYS. I had cast on and knit one stockinette scarf 37 years ago, but had not knit since then until the middle of th eKnitting Olympics.
Skill Level? Well, I’ve knit socks, large and small lacy shawls, numerous hats, cabled items, mittens, fingerless mitts, a child’s sweater, gloves… I have not knit intarsia nor fair isle nor have I completed an adult sweater (in progress with this). I guess I’m intermediate.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes I do. I will be updating it during the July 4th weekend, as it is sadly out of date.

5. What’s your favorite scent?
Hmmm, well, for soaps and lotions a Vanilla or Cucumber Melon – subtle scents. I don’t really wear perfume. Candles can expand to the Fall and Winter scents, Apple Cinnamon, Pumpkin Pie, Baked Apple, rather than flowery, sweet scents.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Not much of a sweet tooth. Given the choice between Potato Chips and Dip and Chocolate Cake, I’d take the Potato Chips.
My favorite candy bar is a PayDay. A distant second on the list would be Butterfinger. Chewy, jelly-like candy and my teeth do not get along.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
Knit and Crochet are the primary DIY crafts. However, I do have supplies for scrapbooking and beading. I also have been known to cross stitch, though it has been a long while.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
Country is my first choice in music. I enjoy the 50s, 60s and 70s as well. Not a hard line rock and roller. I also count many musicals in my collection.

9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand?
Favorite colors would have to be jewel tones – mostly in the red and blue families. Forest green is better than lime; golds and browns are better than sunshine yellow.
Neon and overly bright versions of any color are quick turn-offs for me.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
No pets. No desire for pets. Single mom to two young men - 21 and almost-19. We share our home with my 73-year-old mom who is currently battling breast cancer.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
yes, yes, yes and emphatically NO

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Hats are the fastest. Lace shawls give me the deepest satisfaction.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Gloves, shawl, hat, socks, lace sweater – all of these are in progress and get worked on periodically.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Of course.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Circular and/or dpn – depending on the project. Bamboo or metal depending on the yarn. Straights are my least favorite and plastic is right down there at the bottom of the list.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yes to both, and a niddy-noddy!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Any knitting UFO is less than 4 years old. We’ll not talk about the crochet afghan sitting in the corner for 10+ years!

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?
I don’t really have a favorite holiday. I enjoy any day that I can sit at home and relax without the worry of work.
We do celebrate Christmas in our house, from a religious as well as cultural aspect. Over the years, I have found I get less enthusiastic as more of the ‘after holiday’ cleaning up and storing is left just to me. I’ve become a minimalist!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Not really

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Not really, but I’ll add it to my Amazon list (see above), if something comes to mind! I have canceled all magazine subscriptions in my house.

21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?
Does time management count as a technique? I think I’d like to master what I’ve got going this year and try new stuff as I feel like it.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I have made a few pairs of socks. I’d have to measure my foot. Secret Pal person, if you want to knit me socks, please ask for the measurements. I can tell you I wear a woman’s US11 wide width (usually, which end up being loose on the heal because my width is near the ball of my foot)

23. When is your birthday?
May 13

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what’s your ID?
I am Radarkaty. Come find me at CPaAGg (the Completely Pointless and Arbitrary Group group). I spend most of my Ravelry time there.